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Couple uses Hobby as Vehicle for Cancer Research Funding/Awareness

Accepting a $1,777.75 donation from (left to right) Joe and Judy Buchholz on behalf of the Community Cancer Research Foundation is Administrative Director Mary Shields and Cancer Resource Centre Director Tony Andello.

MUNSTER - Motorcycle enthusiasts Joe and Judy Buchholz recently rode into town and delivered a check in the amount of $1,777.75 to the Community Cancer Research Foundation. The couple, members of the now defunct Indiana Chapter of the N.A.40+ Touring Riders motorcycle club, has toured across country to raise funding and bring awareness concerning cancer research.

Cancer research is a cause that is near and dear to both Judy and Joe Buchholz of DeMotte. Judy was a participant in the Sentinal Lymph Node Mapping Clinical Trial at Community Hospital in Munster and is a five-year survivor of breast cancer. Joe Buchholz is a 71-year survivor of retinoblastoma (both diagnosed and had surgery at age two) — a cancer found predominantly in young children, which develops in the cells of the retina - the light sensitive cells of the eye.

After years of traveling to downtown Chicago for follow up care, Joe Buchholz was asked by his physician why he came all the way from DeMotte when he had some of the best physicians in the country right in Munster.

“We’ve been very, very satisfied with the care we’ve received here,” Joe Buchholz says, “We have confidence in our doctors and decided to give something back.”

This is not the first time the Buchholz’s have presented a check to the Community Cancer Research Foundation. Through their eight-year membership with the North American (NA) 40+ touring riders’ club, the couple has raised more than one thousand dollars in cities across the country for their cause. The NA 40+ Touring Riders is a non-profit international organization with chapters in both the United States and Canada, and is operated for the pleasure of motorcyclists and for anyone with an interest in motorcycles. There are no stringent requirements for membership; simply an interest in motorcycling and a willingness to get together with other club members. The Buchholz’s coordinated their raffle ticket sales and other fund raising activities to coincide with the club’s annual International Rally which takes place in a different city each year. The money raised from the raffles was then donated to Community Hospital in Munster for breast cancer research.

Cancer patients who are eligible to participate in clinical trials face many barriers. Most times, cancer clinical trials take place at the university setting or metropolitan medical centers, and, people who wish to participate are forced to relocate or drive long distances away from their family and supporters. Other barriers may be insurance, cost, or lack of education and understanding.

Community Cancer Research Foundation strives to break down these barriers by making cancer clinical research trials available in the community setting, so people can be treated close to home. The Foundation uses its funds to pay for the drugs and tests used in the trials, and to educate the community about the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer, and the importance of clinical research.

For more information about the Community Cancer Research Foundation, located at 926 Ridge Road in Munster, visit our web site at www.comhs.org/crf/donations/asp or call 219-836-6875.